Unpredictable, inconsistent, and designed to be wildly relevant for learners, their engagement, and their development.

Sandy Speicher leads IDEO’s Design for Learning domain, which brings human-centered thinking to systemic challenges in education. Her work helps educators use design tools and methods to work in new ways, to prepare for future challenges, and to transform their organizations and communities.

Two of my students stared at me, and then at each other. Each held up a sheet of graph paper, but their graphs were different. And then, one of them asked the question I knew was coming. “But, who is right?” I looked at them and said, “You tell me.” The activity I had planned for that day i

The New Classrooms version of reinventing high school and junior highs leverages technology to target lessons to every student every day, explained New Classrooms’ Rose.

Watching screens with lists like an airport departure schedule, kids find the stations they go to each day. It will be a mix of time at a computer table, time with a study group, project time and tutoring time with a teacher when needed. Each day the staff meets after school and, using online coursework and teacher reads, lays out the next day’s lineups.

It sounds a little manic, but here are the results: Overall their students learned a year and a half’s worth of material in one year. English learners, probably coming from behind, averaged 1.7 years’ growth in one year.

And here’s the wild one: Special-education students, rarely expected to even make one year’s growth, averaged 1.4 years in New Classrooms.

Recent technological advances have affected many areas of our lives: the way we communicate, collaborate, learn, and, of course, teach. Along with that, those advances necessitated an expansion of our vocabulary, producing definitions such as digital natives, digital immigrants, and, the topic of this post -- "21st-century teacher."...

Obviously, teaching in the 21-century is an altogether different phenomenon; never before could learning be happening the way it is now -- everywhere, all the time, on any possible topic, supporting any possible learning style or preference. But what does being a 21st-century teacher really mean?

Online classes can be rewarding if students are highly engaged, self-motivated, and performing to the best of their capabilities. What makes online teaching challenging is the lack of visually watching students, which means an instructor does not have the benefit of visually assessing them as they attempt to complete the learning activities and course requirements.

That's not the only challenge an online instructor may face. There may be technological issues with the online classroom platform or challenges related to managing a class while meeting the facilitation requirements. What makes online teaching even more challenging are difficult students, which includes students who don't seem to review their feedback and are unreceptive to constructive criticism, along with students who fail to communicate in a respectful tone. Working with difficult students usually requires spending additional time and may create feelings of frustration for the instructor, especially if the students are not responsive.

Even if an instructor is highly visible and engaged in their online class, and offers multiple methods of contact for students, it still may be difficult to pinpoint the underlying causes of student issues. Inappropriate communication must be addressed right away through corrective methods; however, knowing something about the student and the reason for their frustrations can have a positive impact on the situation. Unfortunately, some students rely upon anonymity and do not respond to outreach attempts.

Online students are known primarily through their classroom posts, papers, and messages, which means an instructor may not learn much about them if they are not actively involved in the class – and that makes understanding their developmental needs much more challenging. There are methods an instructor can use as part of their instructional practice to work with difficult students, which means that excellence in online teaching can be maintained during the best and worst of classroom circumstances.

Don't Let Time Be an Issue

A majority of online classes are taught by adjunct instructors. This means that those instructors who are teaching these classes are likely maintaining other responsibilities, similar to their students. Also like their students they may have a specific amount of time devoted for involvement in their classes and when they are online and working there are specific tasks that must be accomplished. Every instructor hopes that students will be highly motivated, fully present when they are in class, and have a mindset that is receptive towards learning. The reality is that students aren't always performing in that manner or have a positive disposition. Whenever a student issue does arise it can cause some facilitation duties to be pushed back. While it is not possible to predict when student issues will occur, an instructor can develop a time management plan for completing the required duties, and have additional time built in to address developmental needs and challenges.

"Curiosity, likely an evolutionary adaptive, is a raw appetite for information that helped us survive. But that same aggressive appetite for information and experience changes in the face of information abundance, and not always for the better."

www.edfoglobal.com is a educational portal that provides end to end solution for each and every need of a student under one platform (be it Information from Playschool to PhD, Coaching Centres, Sports, Admissions, Educational Loans, Career Counselling, Supply of Curriculum Books and the like)

Moving Forward with High School Redesign is a province-wide initiative focused on three outcomes: engaged students, high levels of achievement and quality teaching. It's about redesigning high school to be more student-centred and responsive.

In Alberta, a Canadian province, Moving Forward with High School Redesign has been launched as a province-wide initiative which focuses on achieving 3 outcomes namely, engaged students, high levels of achievement and quality teaching. However, while obtaining high levels of achievement is important, it should not be the main focus of education. What we are trying to provide for students should be a holistic education that helps to hone both their soft skills and intellectuals. Instead of simply focusing on allowing students to obtain excellent results, I believe that it is more important to prepare them and teach them skills sets that they would require in their future jobs or even day-to-day lives. Simply being “book-smart” is not enough anymore, in this technological advancing society where artificial intelligence (AI) could easily take over our spot in society. We have to be equipped with something that sets us apart from these AI and something that ensures our relevance in society. Therefore, it is vital that schools focus on both intellectual and holistic development in order to prepare students before they enter the harsh society.

What follows is the If...Then of professional learning. If school leaders want teachers to be innovative, then they have to offer experiences that inspire innovation. Here are ideas that have worked, with concrete examples.

Gamification, applying game-designed thinking to non-gaming applications, is a tool that’s grown in popularity and is creatively advancing education in the United States.

Educators see the gamification of teaching as a way to “take a more active role in learning” as students “develop the technology skills they need to succeed throughout their academic and professional careers,” according to Scientific American. Gaming needs to “leverage engagement, mindset and design,” says Maker Mom Marie Bjerede.

This collection of blogs, articles, and videos aims to help educators deploy social-media tools to develop professionally, connect with parents and communities, and engage students in 21st-century learning.

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.